Chapter 812 The Royal Conferment Ceremony

The Yunchi Alliance was the biggest event between the Qian and Chu Kingdoms recently.

The version circulating in the Qian Kingdom was this:

The Chu Emperor, in tears, crawled before the official,

Lamenting the Yan dogs' lack of morality, their devastation of the nation, and their poisoning of the people, begging the official to help Chu resist Yan.

The official solemnly helped the Chu Emperor up,

Saying:

In the past, the Four Marquis opened the borders, contributing to Xia, the nation existed because of them, and the mandate of heaven was bestowed;

Now, the Yan thieves are immoral, committing atrocities against brotherly states, Jin lands are overthrown, Chu lands are wounded, and heaven and man are enraged;

Great Qian should form a fraternal alliance with Chu, punish the tyrannical Yan, restore the clarity of Xia, and seek peace and protection for the people of Xia.

The version circulating in the Chu Kingdom was this:

Their Chu Emperor sat on the throne,

When the Qian Emperor ran over in a panic, begging Chu to hold on and continue to resist Yan, listing a large number of examples of mutual dependence.

The Qian official even compared Qian to a concubine, saying that without Chu's support to withstand the pressure from Yan, Qian would have ceased to exist long ago.

The extent of a message's spread never lies in its truthfulness, but in whether the audience likes and is eager to hear it.

The Chu people's confidence lay in the fact that although they were defeated again and again, they were all just defeats. And after each defeat, the Yan people had no choice but to retreat.

The Qian people's confidence lay in the fact that they had not lost territory to Yan, and their Jiangnan region was vast and rich in resources. Now that the official was working hard and many upright officials filled the court, the time for Great Qian's rise was not far away.

But no matter how much they spread and embellished it, they could not change one fact:

That was, facing the ever-expanding pressure from the Yan Kingdom,

The Qian and Chu Kingdoms had no choice but to put aside their so-called pride and restraint and chose to huddle together for warmth.

The Yan people had already won big,

And after hearing the news of the Qian-Chu alliance, they were almost indifferent.

The vast majority of the Yan people were still naive, believing that the Marquisate of Pingxi in Jin East, no, the current Prince of Pingxi, alone was enough to suppress the Chu Kingdom;

And the rest, wouldn't it be easy to deal with the Qian Kingdom?

Regardless of whether it was going to rain or the wind was going to blow,

Life,

Had to go on;

Since it was all the same, one had to find some good hopes and expectations for oneself.

…

The Chu Emperor's carriage entered Chen County, and the Chen family of Chen County received him according to the requirements of etiquette, without exceeding the bounds in the slightest.

While the Chen family head, along with the family elders and talented descendants, paid their respects to the Chu Emperor inside the carriage,

The Chu Emperor himself, in a green robe, appeared at Meng Shou's residence.

Beside him were only two people, one was a sword-maker, and the other was a handsome young man.

The sword-maker was even more disheveled than before. He did not go back to attend Du Gu Mu's funeral. Since the head was missing, he could not be buried with a complete corpse. He did not want to go.

That handsome young man had fair skin, rosy lips, and white teeth. Every frown and smile revealed a captivating beauty.

A man, too, could be beautiful beyond description.

At this time, it was drizzling;

The sword-maker stood alone in the rain, while the young man held an umbrella for the Chu Emperor.

After entering the courtyard,

The sword-maker sat alone under the threshold, leaning against the door panel, sipping small sips of the tea brought by the page, watching the rain outside the eaves, which seemed like an ink painting.

The Chu Emperor and Meng Shou sat opposite each other. Meng Shou brewed tea very carefully, his movements slow, but the Chu Emperor did not stop him, nor did he help.

The young man sat upright, a shallow smile on his lips, yet he seemed very solemn.

"I, I regret it a little."

The Chu Emperor was the first to open the conversation.

Meng Shou shook his head and said:

"This subject does not believe that Your Majesty would regret it."

"Oh? Am I not even able to tell whether I regret something or not?"

"The former Yan Emperor summoned this subject several times to ask about the matter of writing history. After returning to the country, this subject saw the shadow of the former Yan Emperor in Your Majesty."

"That's interesting. Everyone knows that that slave, Nian Yao, admired Jingnan Wang of Yan. Now, we have to add that I admire that former Yan Emperor as well.

The reason why my Great Chu has fallen to this state is truly found."

"The student surpasses the teacher." Meng Shou handed the teacup to the Chu Emperor, and then picked up another cup and handed it to the handsome young man.

"In state affairs, one step behind leads to step by step behind; I often reflect on myself, but I gain nothing.

In the court, many people believe that my actions of削贵族封地削贵族权责之事 (removing fiefs and reducing the power of the aristocracy) were too hasty, causing the fact that my Great Chu was empty, giving the Yan people an opportunity.

I have never thought so. My policy is to extend the life of Great Chu, otherwise, the demise of Great Chu is only a matter of time.

Qu Tiannan was trapped to death in Jade Plate City. At that time, I was busy exchanging benefits with the major nobles of Great Chu in exchange for their support to stabilize the situation. The imperial guards also needed to suppress the domestic situation and could not be dispatched, which is why Qu Tiannan led his army into Jin alone;

Anyone in my position, in that situation, would find it difficult to do better than me."

After all, at that time, the Chu Emperor was just a prince who had emerged from the chaos of the princes. What he had to defeat was not his brothers, but the great nobles standing behind each of them.

At that time, unifying the domestic political forces, striving for a situation where everyone would do their best for the country, and at the same time, letting Qu Tiannan, one of the four great nobles and one of the Pillar Generals, lead his army into Jin to seize a piece of meat for the Chu Kingdom when the Jin land was collapsing;

He had done well enough.

"The Yan people are using the power of the whole country to attack Chu, and my imperial guards have almost all been handed over to Nian Yao, setting up an iron barrel in front of Zhennan Pass.

I handed over the power and also made the nobles of Great Chu contribute their private soldiers, food and grass, and various military equipment;

But who would have thought that the Yan people could actually travel by water?

Who would have thought that the Qingluan Army led by Qu Peiluo would be defeated in one battle on Qingtang!

I am the Emperor, not a general charging on the battlefield. I have done the best that an Emperor can do.

I have tried my best, but I, but the Chu Kingdom, is still losing.

I don't know the battle report of Fancheng. Have you ever read it? I read it, and after reading it, I almost laughed out loud.

Nian Yao took it upon himself to send a surprise force to enter Mengshan through Jin territory, wanting to take Fancheng in one battle;

Du Gu Mu sent the private soldiers of the Du Gu family to approach Fancheng from the south.

But who would have thought,

That young master of the Qu family, the bereaved dog who was defeated by Zheng Fan in the battle of Qingtang like a grass pig, actually held on in Fancheng for so long;

Even more ridiculous is that the man named Zheng actually dispatched all his elites, left Zhennan Pass, went west to Shanggu County, and rushed all the way to Fancheng."

The Chu Emperor picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp, no longer savoring it.

Meng Shou nodded and sighed:

"A person's life is like reading a history book. At first, you look at the freshness of the beginning. After constantly turning the pages, you gradually understand what loneliness and frustration are, and what impermanence is."

"I am the Emperor."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The people below can admit defeat, but the Emperor is the only one who cannot admit defeat."

"Your Majesty is right."

The Chu Emperor closed his eyes.

At this time, the handsome young man stood up and bowed to Meng Shou;

"Xie Yu'an, a junior of the Xie family, greets Master Meng."

"Is it the Xie family's Pegasus?"

"This junior dares not, this junior is ashamed."

The Chu Emperor opened his eyes,

Saying:

"I have decided to send the last Pillar General of my Great Chu, his father Xie Zhuyang, to the north to replace Nian Yao's previous position, in charge of the imperial guards along the Wei River!"

"Your Majesty, wise."

"I, I just don't believe in evil."

The Chu Emperor pointed to Xie Yu'an and said:

"The Yan people call their Prince of Pingxi, one person defeated three of my Great Chu's four Pillar Generals, so I will send the last Pillar General up there as well.

If he has the ability, I will send him a whole one;

If he has no ability, then see if my Xie family Pillar General can support the situation for me!

You say that a person's life is like flipping through a history book,

But in my opinion,

The illustrious history, the rise and fall of dynasties, actually only wrote two words.

The Mandate of Heaven!"

Meng Shou nodded and said, "This subject does not know whether to congratulate Your Majesty or to advise Your Majesty."

The Chu Emperor raised his hand and said, "You only need to say what is in your heart."

"This subject feels that betting on one's own fate is no different from a gambler who has lost his eyes in a gambling house?"

"Master Meng, you are wrong." Xie Yu'an spoke first.

"Oh?" Meng Shou looked at Xie Yu'an, this handsome young man who was almost妖异 (demonic).

Xie Yu'an cupped his hands and said;

"Master Meng, what Your Majesty is betting on is not Your Majesty himself, but the fate of the Great Chu!"

…

Today's Fengxin City was particularly lively.

Outside the West Gate, almost all the people of the city poured out, because the imperial envoy team from the court had finally arrived.

The people of Fengxin City were not very interested in the imperial envoy and the so-called imperial decree itself, but they knew that this time the imperial envoy came to confer upon their Marquis… the title of Prince.

Their livelihood depended on it, their honor depended on it, and even their descendants depended on it, all on the Prince alone. The military and civilians of Fengxin City might be even more excited than the Prince himself about their Prince's continued rise.

In addition, both ladies were pregnant. This sense of security was really difficult to describe in words.

The imperial envoy team came very slowly this time,

It was estimated that Eunuch Huang had already returned to Yanjing City to meet the Emperor, and they had only arrived in Fengxin City.

But things could not be compared like this. First, Eunuch Huang had been trained, and second, the imperial envoy team was too large. The new Emperor, who was determined to give the Zheng family a grand show, did not want the Royal Conferment Ceremony to be too sloppy.

The chief imperial envoy was an old acquaintance, the former prefect of Yingdu, Mao Mingcai.

After Mao Mingcai left Yingdu and returned to Beijing, he was idle for a period of time. Later, he transferred to Sanshi County for a period of time. After the death of the late Emperor and the accession of the new Emperor, he was recalled to the court and appointed as acting prime minister.

The deputy imperial envoy was the former Fifth Prince, Ji Chengmin, the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

The Emperor's Prime Minister and the Emperor's brother acted as envoys to preside over this Royal Conferment Ceremony. The grace was extremely profound.

When the imperial envoy team was about to enter Fengxin City,

Teams of cavalry rode out in neat formations, and the surrounding people all separated in order, making way.

Mao Mingcai, sitting on the Pixiu (mythical wild animal), was a little surprised when he saw this scene.

Although he had been neighbors with the former Marquis Zheng for a long time, he had never personally visited the territory under the rule of the Prince of Pingxi.

Seeing it today,

It was indeed shocking.

It was not those knights who had participated in the war against Chu and still had the smell of blood on their bodies, but these people who spontaneously understood order.

Mao Mingcai was a person who had been a local official and a high-ranking official. Such people marked the absolute control of the upper level over the lower level, and also meant the absolute response of the lower level to the upper level.

The application was that,

Once there was a need for war,

These people, as auxiliary soldiers, as corvée laborers, as local production, etc., could immediately make extremely clear arrangements and mobilizations.

"Wooooooo!!!!!!!"

A desolate horn sounded,

Immediately,

The row of war drums on the city wall began to beat!

All the generals under the command of the former Marquisate of Pingxi in Jin East, except for Gou Moli, who was still guarding Fancheng in Chu, had returned to participate in this Royal Conferment Ceremony.

The Sword Saint, holding his youngest son and accompanied by his wife, also stood in the crowd.

And the Sword Saint's mother-in-law, because she had an "official position," was leading a group of women on the official road of Fengxin City, doing the final cleaning and paving.

The generals under the command of the Marquisate, with their own teams of personal soldiers, had already lined up in formation.

The troops responsible for the garrison of Fengxin City were also deployed around, and the person in charge was Qu Peiluo.

Everything was ready, except for the main character.

…

"My lord, everyone outside the city is waiting."

"Anyway, it's not like it makes a difference."

Zheng Fan reached out and hugged Si Niang.

Si Niang's hands did not stop, helping the lord tie the last knots of the black armor.

Then, she gently pushed the lord away and looked at him on her own, still quite satisfied.

The Prince of Pingxi in black armor smiled;

"The most exciting thing was when I was封伯 (conferred the title of Earl) at Xuehai Pass. The subsequent封侯 (conferment of the title of Marquis) and the current封王 (conferment of the title of Prince) are more like going through the motions. There's no feeling anymore."

"My lord, what you said is very Versailles."

"Hehe."

"Your Highness."

At this time, the princess in gorgeous clothes was already waiting outside. Her belly was much bigger than Si Niang's.

But in this kind of occasion today, as a woman of the Prince, she had to be present.

"My lord, go with Sister Liqing." Si Niang said.

Zheng Fan smiled,

Xiong Liqing walked in, and behind her, several maids walked in carrying gorgeous clothes.

"Si Niang, you should change too."

Si Niang looked at Zheng Fan and said, "My lord knows that this servant does not like these lively scenes, and my lord does not need to worry that this servant will be jealous in this regard."

"I like this liveliness." Zheng Fan said.

Si Niang looked at Xiong Liqing.

Xiong Liqing smiled slightly.

"We are封王 (conferred the title of Prince) now, and there are not many people we need to care about and be afraid of. We should seize the time to follow our hearts. This dress was made privately by Liqing, and it is definitely not as good as your needlework, but it would lose a bit of anticipation and meaning if you weave this kind of gorgeous dress yourself.

Be good, listen to me, put it on.

You promised me that you would be the master in bed, and I would be the master off the bed."

The Prince and the First Lady were saying these couple's words as if no one else was there, but none of the surrounding maids dared to laugh. The maids in the mansion were trained by Si Niang and knew the rules.

Even the princess's expression did not change. They often exchanged some experiences with each other.

"Okay, then this servant will put it on."

Zheng Fan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Come, serve my Princess to change her clothes."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Yes, Your Highness."

This was the first time Zheng Fan changed his name to 孤 (I, used by royalty), and everyone else felt that it was nothing, and it was as it should be.

But Zheng Fan himself felt it was very interesting. While the princess was helping Si Niang change her clothes, he walked out first.

"孤 (I)."

"孤 (I)."

"孤 (I)."

Zheng Fan, who was intoxicated with this self-proclaimed title, realized that Tian Tian and the Crown Prince were walking over hand in hand not far away.

The two children were very curious and did not know what their "godfather" was learning to call out.

The Prince of Pingxi's face did not turn red and his heart did not beat faster,

He continued;

"咕咕咕 (gu gu gu), bending its neck towards the sky, white feathers floating on the green water, red palms paddling the clear waves.

This is a poem I just wrote about the鹅 (goose). Have you remembered it?"

"Yes, the child has remembered it."

"The child has also remembered it."

The Crown Prince scratched his head and said, "咏鹅 (Ode to the Goose), is that how a goose calls?"

Tian Tian explained, "When a goose chokes on water, it gu gu gus."

"Oh, that's right, brother is so amazing."

"Hehe."

Zheng Fan walked to the two children. Today was the Royal Conferment Ceremony, and the Crown Prince was wearing a four-clawed dragon robe, which was truly noble and grand.

Tian Tian was wearing a brocade robe, still as cute and chubby as a 福娃 (lucky baby).

He had beaten him last time, but after a few days, Zheng Fan went to eat breakfast as usual, and Tian Tian peeled salted duck eggs for him as usual.

The child did not throw a tantrum at him, nor did he cry and say he was wronged, and there was no request for an apology;

This made Zheng Fan feel that he was failing as a father sometimes.

The child was clearly so sensible, but he still insisted on saving face.

Perhaps, it was because the child was too sensible. If the child was a little more ordinary, maybe he could relax a little more, but unfortunately, he couldn't say this to outsiders, or they would think he was deliberately showing off.

"Congratulations, Uncle Zheng, on being conferred the title of Prince."

The Crown Prince took a half step back and bowed seriously.

Tian Tian did the same, bowing seriously and saying:

"Congratulations, Daddy, on being conferred the title of Prince!"

Zheng Fan pointed his finger at Tian Tian and said:

"The Crown Prince is wearing formal attire, why aren't you?"

"Me?"

Tian Tian was a little confused. Did he have formal attire?

"Someone."

"This subordinate is here."

Xiao Yibo walked over with several maids, each holding a tray. On the tray were hats, clothes, boots, and ornaments.

"This was embroidered for you by your big mother."

Tian Tian blinked.

Xiao Yibo stepped forward and said, "Little Master, come with this subordinate to change your clothes."

Young children changed clothes faster than women, who had to do their hair.

Soon, Tian Tian, who had changed into a python robe for the Prince's son, walked out. Wearing this python robe on Tian Tian did not make him look very heroic, but it gave people a very cute feeling.

Zheng Fan squatted down and tidied up Tian Tian's collar, which was already well-organized, and after he tidied it up, it became slightly messy again.

Tian Tian smiled and said:

"Thank you, Daddy, for the clothes, thank you, Big Mother, for your hard work."

Zheng Fan shook his head,

Said;

"These are the clothes your real father earned for you."

Zheng Fan said,

Picking up Tian Tian in one fell swoop,

The little guy was getting heavier and heavier.

"Today, Daddy is being conferred the title of Prince, and you will join Daddy in attending the ceremony."

Everyone in the world knew that the son of Jingnan Wang was raised in the Prince of Pingxi's mansion. This was an almost publicly known secret.

And today,

The Prince of Pingxi planned to tear this secret apart completely.

In the past, this was a tacit understanding. Under this tacit understanding, the child was the safest. All he needed to do was block the arrows in the dark.

Now,

He didn't have to be afraid of the spears in the open either.

Lao Tian,

I'm being conferred the title of Prince,

Your son,

Will no longer have to hide in the future.

The Prince of Pingxi, holding Tian Tian, even pointed with interest at the Crown Prince Ji Chuanye, who was standing there,

Smiling, he asked;

"Tian Tian, do you like the colors on your younger brother's clothes?"

When the Crown Prince heard this, he was stunned for a moment.

But Tian Tian shook his head,

Said:

"Tian Tian is fatter than younger brother, so he can't wear it."